After a roughly six-month tender process, German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has been selected to acquire Israeli shipping firm ZIM, partnering with Israel’s FIMI private equity fund, Calcalist learned on Sunday. The sides have finalized terms and are expected to sign the deal soon.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest shipping company by container volume, beat Danish giant Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping company, in the tender process. During the bidding, Hapag-Lloyd decided to bring in an Israeli partner, primarily to resolve complications stemming from the “golden share” held by the State of Israel in ZIM. It partnered with FIMI for that purpose.